We’ve definitely gotten our exercise and it’s time to see the last two cities of Cinque Terre – heaven along the Italian Riviera. But this time, by train! Our first stop is Manarola.

I arrive at the train platform.

An easily pronounceable city, Manarola peaks out from the rock cliffs nearby.

As I walk from the train to the city I must pass through another tunnel to see what surprises Manarola has in store for me. And the very first thing I see as I exit the tunnel . . . GREEN!

Trash after my own heart. Even way out here in this remote cliffside town, Mother Nature is revered.

A sweet looking entrance to the town awaits me.

Soooo cute. A little Bistro on the right, inviting stairs that are calling me. I'm so curious as to what it looks like. C'mon, let's go.

Before I descend the stairs into the town, I pause to drink in this paradise.

Do you like? I sure do! So clean, colorful, quaint. And it's waiting for me. Ah, what a Friday I'm having.

And it gets even better.

I'm sold. No arm twisting, I'll just melt into this scene and forget about my real life. Wouldn't you?

I want one of EVERYTHING!

A much different kind of eye candy.

I have no clue if any of these taste good but the shapes and colors are so yummy.

So what happens when you have to go? You know, go.

The 2 most relieving letters in all of Europe.

One last look at Manarola.

My eyes just never tire of such a view. Do yours?

Now we’re off to the last of the 5 towns of Cinque Terre, Riomaggiore . I’m itching to buy something . . . and no, it’s not food. I’m actually not hungry yet. What am I going to find for my wife in Riomaggiore?

Get your legs ready.

The Main Street of Riomaggiore. A local fresh fruit stand. Everything is built on continually inclining streets. And only public transportation allowed. See the green bus?

Tell me you wouldn't just love walking along these gorgeous little streets, picking your fresh locally grown foods, supporting your local shop keepers. It's like life from another time. I'm going to miss this.

A little further up the road I see an adorable little Doll House.

I thought, what a cute little store. I'll go take a peak inside. Turns out that everything was handmade by this sweet lady. So, I decided to buy a doll (but not for Patty). I have this cutie-pie of a 2 year old, named Taylee, who lives next door to me back home in Washington.

A very proud daughter.

Was this little girl ever proud to take a picture of all the artistic creations made by her mama's hand!

And, of course, this town too has a tunnel with wonders on the other side.

This wall has an invitation to anyone to contribute to its beauty and creativity. Another example of anonymous art in a small town with small egos. I'd say I have something to learn here.

The walk through the tunnel brings me down to the water’s edge.

I could have taken a trip on the water in one of these little dinghy's, but I had something else in mind that I haven't told you about yet.

Believe it or not it’s still early, even after having visited the two towns of Manarola and Riomaggiore. And what haven’t we done yet? Ah, that’s right. We haven’t eaten! Well, tonight we’re in for a HUGE treat.

Paolo (remember Paolo, my daughter, Krosbie’s boyfriend?), told me about this amazing restaurant to have dinner if I could ever make my way to it. Tourists don’t go there because it’s way off the beaten path and it’s located about an hour-and-a-half south of Riomaggiore along the water in a town called Lerici.

We’ll be dining at Ristorante i Pescatori, and there is no menu. Why? Because they go fishing during the day for what they will prepare and serve for dinner that night!

So you and I are about to make use of our pearls of wisdom and figure out how to get to Lerici from Riomaggiore. It’s not in Rick Steves’ book, so we can’t cheat.

Turns out there’s no direct train to Lerici, only to La Spezia. And then we have to take a local bus from La Spezia to Lerici for about an hour. Truthfully, I’m scared s—less. But hey, I’ve got you and my dictionary (and those pearls better start wising-up)!

Ready, get set, go! Trains, buses, crossed fingers, and hopefully we'll be having dinner tonight in Lerici, Italy!

Well, the train ride from Riomaggiore to La Spezia wasn’t too tough. And now, to find the right bus to Lerici. Oy!

It took me 20 minutes to figure out that what the Train Conductor was telling me was that the Bus Stop is down the stairs and across the street.

Picture this. La Spezia is a HUGE, bustling metropolitan city. We’re talkin’ 1000′s of cars and gazillions of buses. My mission, should I decide to accept it, is to find the right bus that will eventually deliver me to Lerici. Remember, Lerici is not a town frequented by tourists. (Actually, let’s not bring that up again.)

YOUR mission is to come back to enjoy what is supposed to be a multi-course extravaganza of a dinner that only locals get to enjoy. Since my stomach is totally empty, I have a very big incentive to find Ristorante i Piscatori in Lerici, Italy tonight!

See you at my table soon. Ciao for now.

Tags: Cinque Terre, doll house, fruit and vegetable stand, handmade dolls, Italian Riviera, Italy, Lerici, Manarola, mosaics, recycling, Riomaggiore, Ristorante i Pescatori, water closet, WC

This entry was posted on Monday, July 20th, 2009 at 2:13 PM and is filed under Italy Adventure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.